018 | Season Spirits

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Season spirits and spooky things
When: IC August 1-15
Where: The Near Shore and Far Shore
Summary: It's the time for spirits to get a bit more 'lively'.



August is a spiritual season in Japan with many people preparing for the Obon festival but many others get into the spirit in another way. All across Japan, people have begun to share their favorite summer ghost stories. Movie theaters advertise the hottest horror flick of the season, teenagers challenge each other to do trials of courage, haunted houses begin to pop up, and it feels like you can't change the channel without switching to some ghost hunting urban legend special. All of this talk about spirits comes at a cost, though.

July comes and passes easily enough but it's almost as if as soon as August begins, so do the incidents. There's an increase in spiritual activity and shenanigans on both shores. Some of them are harmless spooks but others are much more sinister. Arm yourselves with all of the ofuda and omamori you can find and get out there and restore peace!



Possessed Possessions

Inhabitants of the Far Shore may awaken to find their sheets trying to strangle them and shoes stomping on the floor around them. Others may go about their day and find out their teapots suddenly only serve lukewarm tea or their weapons are trying to take swings at them. They're just playful spirits that will abandon their hosts if you shove any ofuda/omamori at them or yell loudly enough. They aren't malicious spirits... they were only just trying to have some fun.

Spirited Festivals

There's a festival every weekend and some of them have set up haunted houses for patrons to visit. You have your standard haunted house thrills... costume make up, jump scares, special effects smoke, the usual! But it looks like some real ghosts have made themselves at home here. Visitors are going in and emerging hours later absolutely traumatized. It looks like once you enter, the real spirits walk you around in circles and give you real scares. There are some spirits here just to have fun thrills and these are spirits that can be chased away with regular ofuda. But it looks like the more violent ones are actually ayakashi out for vengeance. Be careful in there!

Cursed Charms

There sure are some weird trends out there, huh? The latest one is buying cursed trinkets off the internet and passing them off as gifts to unsuspecting victims whether it be to prank a friend or get revenge on an enemy. Cursed mirrors, dolls, fake ofuda, VHS tapes, and so on are being passed around the Near Shore and spreading all sorts of curses.

• Bad luck. As long as you're in possession of the cursed item, you'll be followed by bad luck to varying degrees depending on the quality of the charm.
• Fear. Holding onto this charm results in intense, crippling fear. The fear can manifest as an intense paranoia at all times or being frozen with fear in the face of danger. Some say you can even die of fright...
• Sickness. This charm is pretty straightforward. Having this charm just makes you feel incredibly under the weather and your health will worsen the longer you have the charm.
• Evil. Holding onto this charm results in you being followed attracting evil instead of warding it. Suddenly, you feel as though you are always being followed, as if something is stalking you and clearly out to get you. You begin to run into smaller ayakashi at first but they keep growing in strength and number until you can't fight anymore.
• Bad romance. Someone's meddled with a romance charm so it ends relationships instead of making them! People stuck with this charm are suddenly hyper aware of the faults of others. Everything gets on your nerves and you can't stand being around that person because they're just that annoying. It doesn't just work on couples! It also works on friends and relatives too.
• Bears? An oddly specific curse. It looks like someone has taken a protection from bears charm and made it so now you attract bears where ever you go. Some of them are nice but others...

You can try to destroy the charms but you will find that unless you have purification powers or rend it, the effects last. It looks like most people have been able to shake off the effects by simply disposing of them at temples and buying another charm to counter the effects.

Haunting Hour

There are reports of violent attacks at night-- people being pulled into alleys and attacked, school children being chased by slashers while walking home from school, homes being broken into-- and all of it is done without a single clue left behind to explain who did it. People are warned to be careful at night and as the sun begins to set, something happens. The hour between sunset and dark is supposed to be the scariest hour them all. At this time, the shadows are suspiciously bigger and darker and you constantly see things just out of the corner of your eye. Suddenly, the wind blows cold and there's a rotten smell in the air like blood. It's Oumagatoki, the hour evil spirits meet. Small time ayakashi and spirits on the verge of becoming ayakashi spill into the streets and begin to terrorize others. Protect the people of the Near Shore and watch your own backs.*

* These are just generic ayakashi! Nothing special, nothing specific. Feel free to make up and NPC your own two-bit ayakashi.

THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

In the evening, everyone will receive a set of coordinates and a message from an Anonymous sender,

I want to talk about the
mysterious things that have been happening
lately.
OF course, i
NEED
EVERYONE to come. so don't be
late! see
yoU.
:)

Everyone receives it and there is no way to track where the message came from. If you follow the directions, you'll arrive at a small temple on the outskirts of a city. A sacred fire is lit on the grounds for people to dispose of any cursed or old charms they may have collected. Hang around a bit and it'll become obvious that no one knows who has gathered all of you here tonight. The only ones around are gods and shinki. It doesn't look like any evil spirits are around so other than being invited to the middle of no where at night... there's nothing to worry about. If you wait around, nothing will happen. So while you're here, you might as well discuss the strange happenings! Or tell ghost stories around the fire.

Wildcard

Choose your own adventure! Feel free to make up your own prompts. Ronald Knox's player (diehardreaper) has offered up their temple as a test of courage in the Far Shore for those who want to try their luck. Check out their description under the Baron's manor.

In Summary:

• Beat the heat by feeling a scary chill
• Deal with cursed and spirit-imbued items
• Keep the Near Shore people safe
• Chat about your scary encounters
• Have fun~

Comments

I.

[redmare]

[The voice took her by surprise. Man did they sound upset. Actually, they sounded pretty familiar. Chinatsu notices something slipping through the door into the temple, but she didn't catch what it was. This is the part of the scary movie where you criticize the character for following unknown objects-- but it's not like the temple looked suspicious. Knocking on he door gently, she enters.]

Hello? I'm coming in--

[priforprince]

Why?!

[ Since Chinatsu still can't see the speaker, it's likely they aren't speaking to her. Instead the door opens into a long and opulent hallway - gold detailing on the walls, multiple crystal chandeliers, the floors are so polished they reflect light. There's plenty of branching-off hallways, too, and lots of doors.

Down one of the branch hallways, she will find an amusement park. Indoors. But down a different one of the branch hallways, were she to follow the trail of water drops left on that otherwise-immaculate floor, she will find an open door whence the voice is coming. ]

Why is nothing where I know I've put it....

[ ...in fact, looking more closely, there are multiple water trails leading up to this door. ]

[redmare]

[This temple was so..extravagant. It looked more like the inside of Versailles than a temple. It was a palace fit for a--- Oh, that makes sense. Had their been no trail, Chinatsu would have surely gotten lost in this place. Following the droplets, she entered another room, finding the source of the voice. The look of the temple made even more sense now.]

Hibiki-san?

[priforprince]

[ !!

Hibiki knows that voice. Straightening up from rifling through this desk, she turns to give Chinatsu a smile. Her tie is somewhat askew. ]

Couldn't keep yourself away until our rendezvous, I see. To what do I owe this pleasure?

[ Those water drops are here and there on the carpet within this room. ]

[redmare]

[If she was freaking out earlier, Hibiki didn't sound like it now. Ah, but her outfit wasn't as neat as it usually is.]

I saw something come in here-- it's been leaving that trail.

[She points at the droplets]

I was wondering what it was so I just followed it in.

[priforprince]

Something?

[ Hibiki frowns at the ground. There is water on the floor, isn't there. Curious. ]

Perhaps the fairies of attraction wished to ensure our paths crossed again.

[ Yeah, she's got nothing. But so minor an occurance hardly seems worth worrying about!

A droplet appears on her desk. ]

[redmare]

I didn't really see what it was.

[Pretty sure it wasn't the fairies of attraction. Wouldn't they have left a trail of rose petalsor something. She noticed the droplet from her peripheral vision, turning towards it]

Ah! There! Another one.

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki turns to look, reaching into a pocket. This dislodges her handkerchief, which drops to the ground.

And, of course, that's what she'd been looking for in the first place. She scowls when she notices it isn't there. But this is all nothing, right? Beneath her notice. She needs to reassure Chinatsu. ]

Pay such paltry occurrences no mind.

[ Time to pick up her handkerchief....She bends down.

Two drops form on the desk right next to her. ]

[redmare]

But...

[Chinatsu was about to reach for the handkerchief as well when she saw the droplets form again.]

See! There it is again!

[It definitely didn't look like it dripped form a leak in the ceiling, and it's not like a leak could've made a trail like that, right?]

[priforprince]

There wh--

[ Bump.

Right beneath where the droplets had formed,

Shikyoin Hibiki, movie star, theater darling, model, PriPara top idol, and entertainment superstar,

bumps her head on her desk. ]

Hng!

[redmare]

Ah--

[That sounded painful.]

Are you okay, Hibiki-san?

[Chinatstu peeks under the desk to check on her]

[priforprince]

It's...nothing.

[ It shifted. She could have sworn she'd sensed she had enough clearance to stand! Her instincts, her sense for the stage, are impeccable! There's no sensible explanation for why she, of all people, could have been dealt such an injury!

Up she comes, looking slightly the worse for wear. At least she's got the handkerchief. ] Everything is...fine.

[redmare]

[That was weird, especially since it didn't look like Hibiki had to go under the desk to retrieve her handkerchief.]

...You sure?

[She was sounding less and less like it.]

Maybe you should sit down for a bit?

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki doesn't relent so much as twist the invitation around to suit her purposes. She smiles at Chinatsu. ] If you'd care to join me.

[ The water pools on the desk, looking simultaneously disappointed and relieved. Somehow. ]

[redmare]

[There's the Hibiki she's familiar with. Before she can offer to help her to a chair, she notices the puddle on the desk.]

....Please say you see that.

[priforprince]

...I do.

[ You are extremely preoccupied with the state of liquid in this temple. So is Hibiki, except normally couched in the terms of "bring me more tea" and "this tea is delicious". ]

[redmare]

....Is that normal here?

[priforprince]

No.

[ Point-blank. ]

But, it's easily eliminated.

[ See, that's what the handkerchief is for. Normally she'd have someone manage this for her, but Wendy is presumably off doing...Wendy things, or something, Hibiki is a large-hearted monarch who has no issue with giving her shinki free rein...so that just leaves Hibiki.

This is the classiest desk-wiping ever. The act of cleaning sparkles. ]

Good as new.

[redmare]

[Alright, was she more weirded out by the mysterious droplets or by Hibiki's lack of reaction to them.]

..........Does this not freak you out at all?!

[priforprince]

It's of little consequence.

[ And therefore undeserving of the Great Prize that is Her Attention. ]

Granted, were it to migrate somewhere more unpleasant, it might garner--

[ A drop of water plonks onto Hibiki's head and runs down her nose. ]

[redmare]

Hi---

[Yikes. Probably...best not to say anything.]

Um.....here.

[Chinatsu reaches into her pocket for her own handkerchief, offering it to Hibiki. Don't make a big deal out of it, Chinatsu.]

[priforprince]

Thank you.

[ Hibiki begins patting herself dry. She doesn't have time to worry about this sort of thing when she needs to be a good host instead.

Besides, she isn't finished. Investigating. Chinatsu. ]

Have you eaten?

[redmare]

[She can even ignore that?! To be impressed or not....]

Huh? Oh..not yet. But I'm alright!

[priforprince]

Then, would you care for a tour until mealtime?

[ Yes, this will work. This might even work better than sitting around together or the theater, though of course, they'll still do that. ]

There's plenty to see.

[redmare]

[Well, if Hibiki's going to just ignore it...]

Sure, why not?

[Not often you get to see a place like this, right?]